FIREFIGHTERS from Surrey and Hampshire were called to Lightwater after a large heath fire broke out in the country park on Monday night.

The blaze started at around 9pm in undergrowth near the rugby pitches, and crews were at the scene until around 3.30am on Tuesday.

In total, six fire engines as well as four 4x4 off-road vehicles and two water-carrying appliances attended the scene.

Crew manager Clyde Raffery, from Camberley fire station, said the flames had spread over around two hectares of land when they reached the country park, off The Avenue.

He said the flames took longer too put out than usual as they were under an electricity pylon, which meant firefighters had to be careful with using their water cannons.

And he added: "The damping down took quite a lot of time as there was peat soil."

The soil, which is part of much of Surrey Heath’s heathland, has a higher carbon content than others which causes it to burn more easily.

Once it is heated up by a fire on the surface, peat soil can start to smoulder undetected for long periods of time. This in turn can reignite heath fires that have already been extinguished.

During the 600-hectare fire that raged across the Ministry of Defence-owned Pirbright Ranges during May, the peat soil was heated to such an extent that sporadic blazes started breaking out at random points along the heathland.

For more on this story, see this week's Camberley News & Mail, out on Friday, July 2.